Name checked stylistically with the likes of Saint Vincent and PJ Harvey, Australian singer-song writer Ella Fence’s music disturbs the comfortable and comforts the disturbed. She has a new double A side single ‘The Child’/’I Was Made For Loving You‘ out on Golden Robot Records.
Like many over the last couple of years, Fence has lurched between mania and fatigue, from productive to depressed. Still, she shrugs her shoulders with indifference at her plight, noting her problems have been insignificant compared to the magnitude of the suffering of others. It’s been her defiant survival instinct, (at a time when many have had to find inspiration in the darkest of places) that has shaped her 2022 musical counter attack.
The double A single is two tracks of rock ‘n roll. Rock played just the way they should be, as she explained, “Previous recordings I wanted perfect (and I make no apology for that objective), but now I want real. We’re enduring challenging times and people deserve the truth.” She continued, “I was born real not perfect, and I wanted that attitude to be recognised in my music.”
Her new music is the glorification of guitars and monumental vocals. The two songs to be released express a collective community fatigue with a theme of resilience. Her voice illustrious, that despite the world’s two years of isolation, it’s time to reclaim the streets. It’s been a crazy, complex environment and this release from her is an uncomplicated, no nonsense musical experience.
The first of twin singles released is ‘The Child’. She mused, “Music is like falling in love, it should be dangerous and reckless. I’ve never been risk adverse and The Child signals a shift stylistically for me. There’s less reliance on technology, this is flesh and blood… humanity and guitars.
“I wrote this song on acoustic guitar. I felt primed and confident vocally and had a cool idea for arrangements. I got together with Brock and Jordan, couple of boys out of Brisbane Pop/Punk band, The Bugs, and hit the studio. Brock was in control of production and Jordan got behind the kit and strapped on the guitar.
“The three of us sonically collided and that impulsiveness took ‘The Child’ from embryonic stage to commence evolving. Louie Shelton (yes, that Louie Shelton), the legend Of The Wrecking Crew then blazed a guitar lick or two to the song. As you’d expect Louie gives a masterclass on lead guitar. Louie is a bona fide legend’ he’s performed on and shaped songs for John Lennon to Lionel Richie.”
‘The Child’ continued to develop and morph, when post Bugs and Louie, the creative baton was passed on to and landed with LA producer, Scott Campbell (of (Alanis Morissette fame). He laboured over it until the epic-ness of the song was realised.
The double A single’s partner is the classic Kiss song, ‘I Was Made For Loving You’, an instantly recognisable piece of music from a band that’s a walking myth.
Be warned, Ella Fence has slapped on the latex gloves and performed sonic open-heart surgery on the song. She’s removed the existing vital organ and replaced it with a new circulatory system. Apparently, it’s a transplant of two hearts pulsating, one from a wild boar, the other from a rabid hyena. When Campbell heard it, he liked it but went “Fuck it, let’s explore further spaces outside the original.”
“I was introduced to Scott through my manager, Stevie Barr,” said Fence. “I spoke with Scott in LA and we clicked. He’s a remarkable man, and we worked beautifully together. Our aim was to create a version of ‘I Was Made For Loving You’ that evoked a sense of danger and the end result is a blast.”
Overhauled, with a blowtorch taken to it, Campbell intensified the mix, Fence’s voice elevating to caterwauling, her apocalyptic vocals pulled along by Campbell, including a savage shark alarm guitar attack, courtesy of axe man Tom Livermore.
Ella Fence was nominated for Australian Women In Music’s “Best Development Artist” 2019, accumulating 8 Gold Coast Music Award nominations (having won 2) and named as a finalist for the 2019 Carol Lloyd Award. The cherry on top is Ella has amassed over 4 million streams of her music on Spotify.
You can order the double A sided single here and check out videos for them here at RAMzine.
